A Month in the Life

Most blogs represent a journal of activities, experiences and ideas that are worthy of sharing, and that are fit to print. As my readers know, my blogs are more sporadic and come in bursts every few weeks. (Do not rejoice, this may not actually be the start of another burst.)

There are a number of reasons for this pattern: the demands and intensity of my work. Primary among them is my reluctance to share routine experiences that, I hope, have no wider meaning (hence, no Twittering for me). Then, there is the absence of the inspiration needed, when time does permit, to spend more time in front of my laptop instead of reading, walking the dogs or simply sitting still with my thoughts.

I have just concluded an incredibly fruitful and demanding few weeks of travel, events, meetings and tasks; I should be primed to share with you all the insights gleaned, but, other than bragging about all that has been achieved, I find myself already focused on some serious matters that have to be dealt with in the next six weeks or so, and my personal musings have much lower priority.

SUNY Empire State College is dealing with serious budget issues while trying to stay positive about the future, and while we strive to make the case that this college, and SUNY as a whole, deserves better support and more freedom to achieve the crucial mission of supporting the social, economic and cultural health of this state. My ability to convince others of our cause while inspiring my colleagues to do more with less will, I think, be tested as never before.

Still, I was on Mayne Island last week for my annual fall visit (see the Nov. 16, 2010, blog) and since I had three hours of darkness to fill every morning before anyone else got up, I sat down to compose this blog with nothing at all in mind. And I rambled, in true blog style. So, here it goes.

On the home front, my daughter, Alexis, is back in Vancouver, having completed her Master of Science in Global Health at University College London. Her twin sister, Hilary, has just completed her latest big event in Turkmenistan, helping its people celebrate 20 years of independence. Daughter Caitlin is developing some incredible websites for all sorts of clients, and son Alex is at Brock University in Ontario, doing well in his second year and playing music with his band. All is well, though there is no chance of seeing them all together soon.

Back in Saratoga Springs, the dogs are fine, but starting to show their age; Charlie the cat rules the house, and all the animals are happy to have my wife, Denise, around while I am traveling the state and beyond.

I was at Cambridge University in September giving a keynote address on the role of open and online learning on global social justice. It was an astonishing event, with people from every continent engaging openly and freely on the impact of international higher education and how it has to change from being just a one-way activity.

Denise and I visited with Kay Boyer recently, at her home in Princeton, N.J. Kay is very important to Empire State College. She was part of the inspiration for her husband, former SUNY Chancellor Ernest Boyer, to establish an alternative and progressive institution to help those traditionally underserved by higher education. Kay is also an alumna, and still going strong. We reminisced about those heady years in the late ’60s and early ’70s, and the list of iconoclasts who were part of Empire State College’s growth, including my predecessors. We closed a loop of sorts when we met, in this, the college’s 40th anniversary year, and we are now sharing photos and zucchini jelly recipes.

Speaking of the 40th anniversary, we held our first gala in New York City to honor two of our most notable alumni, Bob Herbert and Morton Bahr, and to raise money for scholarships. It was great event, supported by the college’s amazing Foundation Board and many employees. I also have been to wonderful celebrations in Rochester hosted by the Genesee Valley Center and in Syracuse at the Central New York Center. Remaining to attend are events in Latham and on Staten Island, as we wind down an incredible year of celebration.

I have been driving around the state visiting our 35 locations, enjoying a mostly pleasant fall, although the odd mix of warm weather and occasional gale-force winds and rain seems to have interfered with the intensity and range of colors. I did manage a short hike in the Catskills with some friends, and encountered for the first time the serious activity of leaf-peeping, and came home with a big bag of Cortland apples. I am getting to be a real New Yorker, aren’t I?

I also attended our Student Academic Conference in White Plains, with some incredible work being shared by our students, and one of the best speeches I have ever heard on the role of higher education by Dr. Penny Jennings.

Lastly, I’ll mention the SUNY Showcase in the Mid-Hudson region, held at Purchase College. This was a great event where all nine SUNY institutions in the region put on a great show; it also was an opportunity to meet some key legislators. Of course, Empire State College is participating in all 10 of these showcases planned across the state, and it is exhausting work, but also another opportunity to experience this great state in its diversity and to see the power of SUNY in action.

OK, so this was a real blog: bits and pieces of a journal of me as president of one of the best colleges of its kind in the world. I love my job!